Removing differential

[circut]

Hey guys, I'm in the process of swapping my rear differential. The diff as a whole will be being replaced with one from a SS. Anyways, my question is in regards to the springs, and shocks in the back.. If I try to remove the screw that attaches the shocks to the differential, will they shoot down? I thought they were under pressure, but I'm not sure.. The car is fully supported off of the ground (by the body, not the diff or anything ;>) and the diff has a jack under it as well.. Just for safety.

Also there are these huge springs on the other side of the diff... Is there a special tool I need to remove these? Any help on this matter is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Erik

[Disifer]

Depends on how stiff the shocks are. They probably won't shoot down but they'll definitely extend all of the way unless they're shot.

What year, make and model are you talking about?

[circut]

This is a 2002 Z28 camaro..

But I'm putting in a diff from a 02 SS. The shocks themselves are fine, but I need to disconnect them to get the differential out. I found a couple posts here talking about how to replace the shocks, and they say just support the rear axle (diff?) and then take out the 4 bolts (2 in my case since I'm just disconnecting it from the diff)

But what also worries me are these big coil springs which are on the other side of the differential. They don't seem like they're under that much tension, but I'd like to be careful.

So what my current plan now, after supporting everything:

1) Disconnect the little support bar thats connected to the by ubolts
2) disconnect the driveshaft and the 2 support bolts that hold it to the frame
3) disconnect the shocks and drop the diff out

Am I missing anything? Any considerations I should take?

-Erik

[Jeff_in_Atl]

emergency brake cable
brake line from the frame to the T on the axle
ABS connector
pan hard rod to axle
lower control arm to axle
torque arm

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Some tips:

You get the car up kind of high on jack stands and support the rear end (diff) with a jack. What you have to watch out for is to unbolt your calipers and free up the brake lines so you don't wipe them out. Disconnect the ABS, panhard rod & driveshaft. Unbolt the shocks, lower the rear end, and the springs will just fall out. You might want to put some jack stands under the axles. You have to be careful unbolting the torque arm and lower control arms because the rear end will want to swing down at the yoke side.

[Injuneer]

To answer your specific question about the shocks "shooting down".... no, they won't. Lower the rear axle assembly with the jack until it stops dropping. At that point the shocks are fully extended and holding the weight of the axle.

Raise the axle back up 1/2" to take the weight of the axle off the shocks. Then remove the nut and pull the shock forward, off the stud. Gas shocks do contain pressure, but once they are fully extended, they can't extend any more.

I have an online procedure for a complete rear axle swap. Your e-brake will be different on the 98-02 cars, and you may have 2 brake lines (with ABS + TCS) rather than the one on my "no TCS" 94. But otherwise things should be similar:

http://members.aol.com/InjuneerZZ/Strange12.htm

[circut]

Thanks for all the tips guys, but I think Injuneer gets the points ;>

But I still have a couple questions:

13. "Remove the sway bar"
The sway bar is the bar underneath the differential?
Or is it the bar that runs horizontally, starting lower left and going up right?

15. "Remove the end of the panhard rod"
Is this the bar that is underneath the diff? its connected in 4 places, 2 to the diff, 2 to the body of the
car by these little rods which appear to have some rubber things on them.

16. "Be sure you have left the LCA’s and TA in place it this time. "
What is an LCA bracket?
What is a TA?

18. "Remove the u-bolts that hold the u-joint to the pinion yoke."
This is the same thing you were talking about in #15?

I see the ubolts under the car, but it seems like your saying i should see around 4 while i only see 2


Anyways, thanks guys, wish me luck!

-Erik

[DeWynter]

Thanks for all the tips guys, but I think Injuneer gets the points ;>

But I still have a couple questions:

13. "Remove the sway bar"
The sway bar is the bar underneath the differential?
Or is it the bar that runs horizontally, starting lower left and going up right?

The sway bar is the one connected in 4 places. Two places on the axle and two places on the body

15. "Remove the end of the panhard rod"
Is this the bar that is underneath the diff? its connected in 4 places, 2 to the diff, 2 to the body of the
car by these little rods which appear to have some rubber things on them.

The pan hard is the one that runs horizontaly across the back of the car connected lower left and upper right.

16. "Be sure you have left the LCA’s and TA in place it this time. "
What is an LCA bracket?
What is a TA?

The lower control arms are the arms that go from the front of the axle to the body. The torque arm is the big arm that runs along the driveshaft all the way to the trany.

18. "Remove the u-bolts that hold the u-joint to the pinion yoke."
This is the same thing you were talking about in #15?

I see the ubolts under the car, but it seems like your saying i should see around 4 while i only see 2


Anyways, thanks guys, wish me luck!

-Erik

[Injuneer]

In this photo, the sway bar is the red bar hanging under the axle (yours will be black, smaller in diameter, and the brackets that hold it to the axle housings will be smaller). The panhard rod is the round black bar running almost parallel with the axle (yours will be black, but an inverted "U" shape stamping, rather than a tube):




The LCA is the lower red tube that connects the bracket on the axle to the chassis (yours will be black, an inverted "U" shape):



The torque arm is the big red arm that connects the center housing of the rear axle to a bracket on the transmission housing (yours will be black, and a flat stamped piece, rather than tubular, and it will not have the front cross-arm connecting it to the body):



The first two U-bolts are the ones that attach the sway bar brackets to the rear axle tubes.

There are also two U-bolts that attach the driveshaft/U-joint to the pinion yoke. You remove the U-bolts from the pinion yoke, and that allows you to push the driveshaft forward, pushing the U-joint end caps out of the pinion yoke. Tape the caps to the end of the U-joint so they don't fall off and spill the needle bearings all over the place. In this photo, they are the silver U-bolts:



I don't have any photos of the stock setup, only of aftermarket suspension parts.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Thanks for all the tips guys, but I think Injuneer gets the points ;>

I didn't know this was a competition or I would have tried harder.

[circut]

Alright well it's almost out. We hit a snag when we tried to remove these metal plates which have some spring wire in them. Basically the calipers are connected to it, so were gonna need to disconnect the brake lines to get them off..

Also, I seem to have broken a screw.. Specifically the screw which connects the sway bar to the frame of the car. There are some rubber pieces on this screw. Does anyone know what this is called?

-Erik

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Does it look like this?

If so they are called end links. You can get a pair of them that look just like the above at Autozone for $18.99. Those are made by energy suspension and will be firmer than the stock ones.

[circut]

Thats them!

I guess you do get some of them points after all ;>

-Erik

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Thats them!

I guess you do get some of them points after all ;>

-Erik

Thank you.

[fastTa]

Alright well it's almost out. We hit a snag when we tried to remove these metal plates which have some spring wire in them. Basically the calipers are connected to it, so were gonna need to disconnect the brake lines to get them off..

Also, I seem to have broken a screw.. Specifically the screw which connects the sway bar to the frame of the car. There are some rubber pieces on this screw. Does anyone know what this is called?

-Erik

That's the parking brake actuator lever return spring. And yes, you will have to disconnect the parking brake cable and disc brake lines in order to remove the axle housing assembly.

But, if you are swapping the complete axle housing assemblies brakes and all, you can just disconnect the the brake hose from the brake pipe at the brake pipe bracket just next to the fuel pump/sending unit electrical harness end connector mounted to the body.

Most parts stores will know the bolt as the end link center bolt or you can just get a complete new end link kit like the one Jeff showed you.